1. United States
2. Calif.
3. Letter

Today I take pen in hand to write and urge the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation to demand removal of FCC Chair Brendan Carr from his position. He joins a long list of extremists that are damaging this country, and doing so in unconstitutional ways. As a chief author of Project 2025, Chair Carr has weaponized the Federal Communications Commission to fight a culture war and control free access to the airwaves and Internet, rather than serve the American people, and his actions warrant immediate removal, and investigation. I’d like to know what foreign powers are pulling his puppet strings. If we had a functioning justice department, investigations could be launched into his actions. Chair Carr has engaged in contentious , sneering, and disrespectful attitude in his hearings in Congress. A short list of abuses include: His dishonest defense of illegal and blatant censorship by pressuring American Broadcasting Company affiliates to not carry Jimmy Kimmel Live, abusing the FCC's influence over broadcasting licenses to silence dissenting voices for political gain. First Amendment and civil rights experts characterized this as a textbook example of undue and violative pressure. He also amplified President Trump's call for late night host Seth Meyers to be fired, further demonstrating his willingness to suppress free speech. As Chair, Carr has gutted media diversity rules designed to prevent individual companies from dominating markets, abandoning the FCC's statutory obligation and continuing to exclude people of color from broadcast ownership. Several pending mergers, including Nexstar's $6.2 billion deal to acquire TEGNA, would violate existing ownership rules, yet Chair Carr appears poised to approve them without proper process. Most egregiously, Chair Carr has weaponized merger authority to coerce media and telecommunications companies into abandoning diversity, equity, and inclusion programs. He publicly stated he does not see "a path forward" to approve transactions for companies maintaining DEI programs, encouraging businesses to "get busy ending" diversity initiatives. FCC Commissioner Anna Gomez condemned this as government overreach that stifles free expression. In other matters, Chair Carr rolled back implementation of the Martha Wright Reed Act, which the Senate unanimously adopted in 2022 to lower phone rates for incarcerated people. Recent analysis found his changes would lead to a 66 percent drop in call minutes, with rates increasing by as much as 83 percent, costing consumers hundreds of millions of dollars annually and likely increasing recidivism. Chair Carr has abandoned his duty to protect civil rights and instead serves the interests of the powerful few. I urge you to find a way too apply pressure and remove him from his position and restore the FCC's mission to serve all Americans. Thank you.